Friday, November 24, 2006

The following piece was written as a trip report to the news group rec gambling poker way back in January 2002. Basically I played cash with a future WSOP champ… I remember seeing him in the final of the 2004 WSOP and thinking, “Hold on, isn’t that the Ice Cream I played pot limit Hold’em with in that blinding cash game at Foxwoods a couple of years ago??!!?”. As you can see from the report I actually thought he wasn’t a bad player at all, and now that I think about it, I realise that if that same game were to happen now with the extra knowledge about the game that I have now, I would appreciate that he was a very strong player, instead of just thinking he was loose-aggressive. Fossilman actually replied to me and reading it back it’s nice to see him tell me, “ I liked your game, and know that in the long run, you'd make a clear profit against the line-up that night.” It's pretty long but I hope you enjoy it.

Original post on r.g.p

As a longtime lurker of this ng i thought i'd post a trip report, as those are the posts i enjoy reading the most. I usually play poker in the uk, at the vic or regency(aka the stakis) in London, and have been playing seriously(as in having read a few books, playing in public cardrooms etc etc) for around 7 years. I have many relatives who live in Connecticut and usually visit that part of the states once a year, making sure that Foxwoods is on the itinerary. In fact, I remember going there not long after it had opened, and being blown away by the action. It was the first public cardroom I had been to in the states, and it gave me the impression that all poker rooms were like that. There must have been at least a hundred games going, with many of them being at high limits(75/150 and higher). Cut to a couple of years later and, of course, all the suckers' money was gone and only about 10-15 games going, all seemingly filled with grumpy locals and rocks. Anyway, it still seems a nice place to play and I usually lose because I cannot get my headaround limit poker. How everyone in America can play this structure I do not know....

However, I won't moan about that, because the night in question, maybe a tuesday about two weeks ago, I find myself walking into Foxwoods poker room, around 9pm, and much to my surprise and delight, there's a list for a pot-limit hold'em game. I put my name on it, and, after being told "it might start, who knows?", a bunch of other games, and look around the room. I see a few locals whose faces I remember from past visits and am thinking how all cardrooms are filled with the same kinds of characters("pros" with threadbare clothes trying to flirt with the waitresses, young college-type guys taking the game super-seriously, seniors making each other miserable, locals trying to dodge who they owe money to etc), when they call my name for a brand new 5/10 Omaha8 game. Of course, the line-up consists of a bunch of old boys who won't play unless it's at least 7-handed, and consequently the game takes about 15 minutes to start. We play about two hands when suddenly I hear my name being called for the plh game. Wow! I can't believe it, I'm going to play pot-limit in an american card room! And it's not during a tournament week, just your typical average day.

Onto the game;10-handed pot-limit hold'em, buy-in $100, blinds 5-5 off the button, $5 from each player every half hour(a reasonable rake?). From now on, forgive me if the details are a little sketchy, I'll do my best to remember things, but it was about two weeks ago. At the beginning the line-up was: seat 1, young guy(YG); seat 2, a rather, ahem...how can i put this?, portly, rich guy(PRG), he clearly had pot-limit experience(and that doesn't necessarily mean he was a good player), which was good because he kept the game going and was most affable, and sat down with at least 10k, maybe more; seat 3, another young guy with a baseball hat(BH), he didn't seem too bad a player; seat 4, a local who was a total rock(Rock); seat 5, another local, who had kind of a loud voice(I don't mean this in a bad way, he seemed like a nice guy, I just can't think of another way to describe him, I'll call him Loudmouth); seat 6, a middle-aged guy called Harold, he was obviously not a very good player, and I suspect, one of the reasons the game was going(I'm not going to refer to him as an idiot-I always find it slightly offensive the way people on this forum call bad players derogatory names. Just because they don't appear to be good at the game doesn't make them an idiot or a bad person); seat 7, a japanese(?) guy(JG); seat 8, another rock(Rock2); seat 9, me; seat 10, another local, who I think was called Spiro(? hope I got that right). Incidentally, the whole game was played in a friendly spirit, although there was often confusion as to what amounts people could raise. On the whole the PRG told players what to do, as most of the dealers, with the exception of one or two, didn't really have a clue. In fact, at one point there was about a five minute delay when a player and the dealer could not get it right(for some reason, neither of them could work out that all you have to do is call first, and then count the pot, and then raise that amount-simple really).

I sat down with $600, apart from the aforementioned PRG everbody else had about $200 to $400 in front of them. Apart from Spiro and PRG, I sensed everybody was a little nervous about playing pot-limit, especially the japanese guy. I noticed right away that PRG was playing many hands, straddling and sticking little raises of $10 or $5 to build the pot up, and encouraging everyone to gambool and all that crap. He was obviously looking to gamble with a weird hand, maybe sending someone with aces or kings broke. This is what I love about pl-you can play rubbish like K10 off, or 22, UTG, if you want, because of the implied odds etc. Mind you, you better be prepared to dump it if things start to look bad. I'm not saying this is correct play or anything, just that if you have a good sense of where you're at and what kind of players you're dealing with, you can be more flexible with your starters at pot-limit(IMHO). Harold was also playing many hands. I won a small pot early on (can't remember anything about it at all) and then looked down to see...AA. Raise! I make it $25 to play. PRG and BH, the blinds, both call, and so does Harold. The flop comes something like 4, 9, A, rainbow. Basically a pretty great flop for a set of aces. They all check to me and like an idiot I bet $75. Fold, fold, fold. What the hell was I thinking?? Maybe I thought PRG was going to take me on or something, or Harold would call, but I guess the blood just rushed to my head. Not one of my greater plays...

About a round later in pretty much the same late position I find AK suited(hearts). I raise, making it 15 to play, and PRG calls and raises another 40. I think about re-raising, thinking i've probably got the best hand, but decide that I don't want to go broke on A high, so I just call. The flop comes Q x x, two hearts. Not too bad. PRG now bets 75. Hmmm...I don't think he's got a super-strong hand, so I decide to play mine aggressively(after all, I have got 15 outs) and call 75 and raise the pot, 270. He gives it the dwell and then decides to put me all-in, about 250 more. I call, and somebody says, "on their backs", to which I reply, "It's not a tournament", but PRG turned his hand over to show AQ. So I was kind of right, he wasn't holding a monster, but I was down to 12 outs. OOPs, make that 9 ‘cos another Q just fell on the turn. I'm funking for a heart, c'mon baby, but of course it's some useless rag club on the river(it's always a club, ain't it?). Oh well, back to the drawing board, so I pull up a grand.

After about half an hour Rock2, on my immiediate right, made a nice play. He had become fairly short-stacked calling a couple of raises to see flops and then having to fold when he hadn't hit. He got up and left. Sure, it was a good game, but he wasn't hitting cards, so why sit around going on tilt? there's always another game and another day. I wish I could cut my losses and just walk away like this more often.

In his place another local sat down. This guy had been watching the game almost from the beginning and was obviously some sort of "pro". He sat with $1000. Very first hand he gets, he raises. I fold, but a couple of others call, including Harold. Flop is something like x 9 10. Harold checks and the pro bets the pot(about 60). Other player folds and Harold calls. Turn is an 8. Harold checks and the pro bets 180. Harold now check-raises all-in about 700 in total. The pro now thinks for awhile and finally calls. Harold, of course, has JQ for the nuts and the pro disgustedly flicks KK in the muck( did you guess the hands right?). Like I said, this pro had been watching the game, and also seemed to know Harold, who, as I had also observed, was not that good a player. How this pro could call a check-raise from a not very sophisticated player I'll never know. Yes, yes I know it's all much easier when you're not in the hand, but you gotta think you're beat when the board is showing a straight and many 2-pair type possibilities(by that, I mean Harold could easily have played 9 10, 8 9, even 10 8 suited as his starting hands) and all you got is one pair, don't ya? The pro later turned round to some railbird and whispered something about "anyone else and I fold, but against him....", so he may well have had good reason to call, I could be judging him a little harshly.

Harold's weak style of play was demonstrated a few hands later when BH in seat 3 bet the pot when a card to make broadway hit the turn(having called a bet on the flop), and Harold, unable to resist with 2 pairs, called. The river was a blank and BH made a large bet again to which Harold made a losing call(BH had the nuts). The point being, I'm pretty sure BH would have folded to a bet if the board had paired.

I then found myself in early position with AJ off and limped in. About 4 or 5 of us saw the flop which consisted of Q K 10, two diamonds. Ok, I got the straight, but I don't like them diamonds.Harold checks and JG bets, I call and raise the pot. Harold smooth calls...ok, he must have diamonds, and JG thinks a little bit and folds. Turn is an offsuit Jack, Harold checks and I bet the pot. He now check-raises me! Great, he's not only just made the top straight as well, but he's freerolling with the flush draw against me. Marvellous. I call and pray for a blank, which it is. Phew. Turns out Harold only had the bare ace of diamonds and while we chop the pot up he talks about having a draw to the royal flush(....?).

Next hand I decide to play is the 7 5 of spades in mid-position. I raise, for the sake of varying my play and hope I hit some kind of mystery(on the whole I'm a fairly tight player, and many in London think of me as absolute granite, but I like to mix it up a little-otherwise you never get paid off when you hit your flop, which has been a problem for me in the past). Several players call. Flop comes...all spades(sorry, can't remember the ranks). I bet the pot and Spiro, to my immiediate left, thinks for a bit and flat calls. Uh-oh, I've found him a tricky player to read, and my perception of him is that he knows what he's doing-is he setting a trap for me and slowplaying the nut flush? It's head's up now and 4th street is a blank. Hmmm, what to do? I can't give him a free card, but what if I'm betting into a monster? I decide to check and see what he does, and then make a decision whether I want to continue with the hand. To my delight Spiro also checks. The river card is a blank, and I decide I'm winning and make a questionable value bet of about 150(prob about 3/4 of the pot). I think I decided he had trips and maybe would call, and if he had the nuts he'd let me know, and I could fold, having murdered $150 in cold blood. He pondered awhile and then folded. As the dealer shuffled for the next hand Spiro told me he had the ace of spades. I don't know whether that was true or not, but if a fourth spade had hit the flop, my cards would have gone straight into the muck(I'm about 95% sure about that).

I guess around two hours had gone by now and new players were entering the game. PRG was actually losing quite a fair amount and had moved to seat 9(my immiediate right) and a new young guy(NYG) had taken his place. NYG raises in 1st position and gets several callers including me with AJ. Flop comes A 3 7, two diamonds, He bets the pot and everyone folds round to me. I think about raising, but I'm worried that I could be outkicked, so I just call(yeah, yeah, I know, if I'm worried I'm beat, why don't I just fold?). Turn card is a Jack-hooray, I got As up-but it's also a diamond. NYG bets the pot, but I don't think he's got a flush, so I flat call, hoping he'll just check it out on the end. The last card is a blank and he checks nervously, so I just turn my 2 pair over, hoping they're good. He turns over two black 3s to go with the one on the flop. Great. So if I had gone with my read on the turn and raised the pot, he may well have folded. My conservative play was not only due to lack of spleen, but also due to the fact that I had never played with this guy before-for all I knew, he had bet on the come, or maybe AK with the K of diamonds. Anyway, I never put him on bottom set. I also lost another pot to this guy, but I can't remember the details of that at all. Basically, I had been slowly crawling my way out of a hole, but since his arrival at the table, I was right back in it.

All was not lost however, because a little later on, I found a pair of 8s in mid to late position. I raise(hell, I didn't come all the way to Foxwoods to limp in!) and my man, NYG calls from out of the blinds. Flop is all undercards with a flush draw (yikes! there might have been a straight there, I can't remember), NYG checks, I bet the pot. He thinks and calls. Turn card is a blank, he checks so I bet the pot again. Now he thinks awhile longer, and then calls. Looks like hecould be on the flush draw, who knows, I fancy I'm winning at the moment. Last card is, aaargh, the flushing card. NYG dwells and dwells. He's thinking of bluffing it, I'm sure, oh wow, I'm gonna have to call a fair sized bet with a lousy pair of 8s, why the hell did I raise it and keep betting like I actually had something good? Knowing my luck he's got trips again....he finally checks, thank God, and I turn my 8s over while he turns over A5off(the 5 matching one on theflop). Phew, I won a pot.

Another interesting coup occurred when I raised in late position with some rubbish(I can't remember, but it doesn't really matter) and found seat 4, the local who was a complete rock(remember?) and the PRG calling. The flop featured two clubs. They both checked to me, so I thought I'll bet out and take the pot right here. They both called-hmmm, have I got a plan B? I was especially concerned when the Rock called because I had barely seen this fella play a hand; he really was super-duper tight. Anyway the next card comes and it's a club, and that's it, I'm through with this pot. They both check to me, and I look at the Rock and he's just dying for me to bet, it's so obvious it's a joke. Like I said I had given up on this pot so I just checked along. River is nothing special and now the Rock bets 200-I knew he had the nut flush! PRG calls and I fold with the satisfaction of seeing my brilliant read. Rock now turns over a pair of 10s(huh?)while PRG is the one with the nut flush. So much for my understanding of that situation.

The game had been going on for a while now when up came perhaps the most interesting pot of the night(unfortunately, I was not involved). A little background on the three participants first.Loudmouth, in seat 5, had for sometime now, been raising before the flop and taking pots down without his cards being seen. Indeed, he was playing well and winning quite a bit(probably had about 3 grand in front of him). PRG, like I said above, was losing quite a lot, maybe stuck about 1000 or so, maybe less. NYG(remember him? he did me with the trip 3s) had started with 300 and, in the space of about an hour, had built it up to about 1500. Anyway, Loudmouth raises UTG, PRG calls, and NYG now re-raises the pot. Loudmouth now raises again and PRG calls while muttering something like, "time to gamble", and NYG calls. I'm pretty sure that's how the pre-flop betting went, but basically they all put-in about 180 each before the flop. I definitely remember the pot was 560, because that was how much loudmouth bet, when he saw J 7 9 in the middle of the table. I know he bet the pot because his favourite expression was, "I'll bet the pot!", being one of those players who always bet the max. Now, the PRG hesitated a little and then said, "make it two thousand", while counting out twenty 100 dollar bills. Now the look on the NYG's face was priceless, the blood literally drained from this kid's face, I'm pretty sure I even heard him say,"oh shit". Whatever the case, he looked pretty freaked out and it dawned on me he had pretty good hand, but maybe not good enough. By now, there was a pretty large crowd gathered around the table watching the action(btw, quite a few times there were many players from other games coming over to watch. This was a good game and there were several big bets and pots generated during the evening. Whilst not being a super-huge game, I think many of the players watching were 10/20 and 15/30 types, and they could imagine themselves in this game. I noticed this same phenomenon at the Bellagio in Vegas once, when some english friends and I set up a plh game, with exactly the same blinds. At the table next to us was Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harmon, Annie Duke etc playing HUGE, maybe 3000/6000, but everyone in the room was far more interested in our game. I was also bemused by the reluctance of these same players to get involved in our game-I'm sure many a time they've found themselves stuck 500, or even 1k, in a 10/20 or 15/30 game, yet don't want play 400 in a plh game in case they blow it all in one hand.) So, NYG starts to think, and Loudmouth says,"c'mon kid, it's 2 grand to you" (I don't think he was feeling too grand). NYG looks a little peeved(and who can blame him?) and says, "yeah, I know", thinks for a while and folds. Now, it's back on Loudmouth and he goes into a 5 to 10 minute think, which as you all know, is a looong time in poker, before he too throws his hand in. What's interesting about this hand is that NYG later said he had Aces! Surely, he should have raised a third time pre-flop(he definitely had enough money in front of him to make calling difficult for the other two, and if Loudmouth had KKs he would have been in a whole world of trouble) and taken the pot down there and then? I reckon PRG's possible holdings were J 9, J 7(for 2 pr) or 10 8(for the straight). I think he would have laid down a small pocket pair for a large bet before the flop, and if he did have a set he would have slow-played it, but, then again, what the hell do I know? As for Loudmouth's hand, I can't even begin to guess. Like I said, he really had not shown down many hands(in fact, at one point, he folded UTG and accidentally exposed KJ off-this resulted in much ribbing; "what a rock!", "he's just showing off!" etc) and was one of the stronger players in the game.

Well, it got to around 3.30 in the morning and I decided to leave. Unfortunately I was stuck $800, but the game wasn't quite as good as it had been earlier(Harold had quit winners long ago, and PRG left not long after the pot described above) and I was tired. So, yes, I did my absolute bollocks(as we say in England), but it was, despite the result, a very enjoyable session. On a final note, the game went strong for at least 5 hours, with new players coming and going all the time, and looked like it was going to carry on a while longer, so all those fears cardroom managers have about pot limit breaking the live ones too quickly maybe a little exaggerated. Kudos to Foxwoods for spreading the game, and also love the non-smoking.

Fossilman’s reply

(My original text in italics)

As a longtime lurker of this ng i thought i'd post a trip report,

Thanks for de-lurking.

Onto the game;10-handed pot-limit hold'em, buy-in $100, blinds 5-5 off the button, $5 from each player every half hour(a reasonable rake?).... seat 2, a rather, ahem...how can i put this?, portly, rich guy(PRG), he clearly had pot-limit experience(and that doesn't necessarily mean he was a good player), which was good because he kept the game going and was most affable, and sat down with at least 10k, maybe more;

I'm not sure if I've been insulted or compliment. I guess portly is nicer than fat. ;-) That was me, Greg Raymer (FossilMan). And 10K is a bit more than I had, it was only about 5-6K.

seat 5, another local, who had kind of a loud voice(I don't mean this in a bad way, he seemed like a nice guy, I just can't think of another way to describe him, I'll call him Loudmouth);

That's Roby, also called Limit Man (you'll understand why later).

seat 6, a middle-aged guy called Harold, he was obviously not a very good player, and I suspect, one of the reasons the game was going

Not really. I was the one working hard to get the game going, and although I had been working on Harold, I didn't expect him to sit down.

seat 9, me;

Welcome to Foxwoods and Connecticut. Other than Spiro, I had tagged you as the only other capable pot-limit player in the bunch.

seat 10, another local, who I think was called Spiro(? hope I got that right).

Yes, you did. He's a great guy, very friendly, and does very well at NL HE tourneys.

On the whole the PRG told players what to do, as most of the dealers, with the exception of one or two, didn't really have a clue.

I am an attorney, and an ego-maniac, and suffer from "Table-Captain Syndrome".

I noticed right away that PRG was playing many hands, straddling and sticking little raises of $10 or $5 to build the pot up, and encouraging everyone to gambool and all that crap. He was obviously looking to gamble with a weird hand, maybe sending someone with aces or kings broke.

Damn, you saw right through me.

I won a small pot early on (can't remember anything about it at all) and then looked down to see...AA. Raise! I make it $25 to play. PRG and BH, the blinds, both call, and so does Harold. The flop comes something like 4, 9, A, rainbow. Basically a pretty great flop for aset of aces. They all check to me and like an idiot I bet $75. Fold, fold, fold. What the hell was I thinking?? Maybe I thought PRG was going to take me on or something, or Harold would call, but I guess the blood just rushed to my head. Not one of my greater plays...

Unless I had flopped 2-pair or better, you weren't going to get any action out of me on that flop. ;-)

About a round later in pretty much the same late position I find AK suited(hearts). I raise, making it 15 to play, and PRG calls and raises another 40. I think about re-raising, thinking i've probably got the best hand, but decide that I don't want to go broke on A high, so I just call. The flop comes Q x x, two hearts. Not too bad. PRG now bets 75. Hmmm...I don't think he's got a super-strong hand, so I decide to play mine aggressively(after all, I have got 15 outs) and call 75 and raise the pot, 270. He gives it the dwell and then decides to put me all-in, about 250 more. I call, and somebody says, "on their backs", to which I reply, "It's not a tournament", but PRG turned his hand over to show AQ. So I was kind of right, he wasn't holding a monster, but I was down to 12 outs. OOPs, make that 9 'cos another Q just fell on the turn. I'm funking for a heart, c'mon baby, but of course it's some useless rag club on the river(it's always a club, ain't it?). Oh well, back to the drawing board, so I pull up a grand.

Thanks for the action. If you had reraised the pot preflop, I would've folded.

After about half an hour Rock2, on my immiediate right, made a nice play. He had become fairly short-stacked calling a couple of raises to see flops and then having to fold when he hadn't hit. He got up and left. Sure, it was a good game, but he wasn't hitting cards, so why sit around going on tilt? there's always another game and another day. I wish I could cut my losses and just walk away like this more often.

If you've got money and aren't on tilt, why walk away when the game is good?

In his place another local sat down. This guy had been watching the game almost from the beginning and was obviously some sort of "pro". He sat with $1000. Very first hand he gets, he raises. I fold, but a couple of others call, including Harold. Flop is something like x 9 10. Harold checks and the pro bets the pot(about 60). Other player folds and Harold calls. Turn is an 8. Harold checks and the pro bets 180. Harold now check-raises all-in about 700 in total. The pro now thinks for awhile and finally calls. Harold, of course, has JQ for the nuts and the pro disgustedly flicks KK in the muck( did you guess the hands right?). Like I said, this pro had been watching the game, and also seemed to know Harold, who, as I had also observed, was not that good a player. How this pro could call a check-raise from a not very sophisticated player I'll never know. Yes, yes I know it's all much easier when you're not in the hand, but you gotta think you're beat when the board is showing a straight and many 2-pair typepossibilities(by that, I mean Harold could easily have played 9 10, 8 9, even 10 8 suited as his starting hands) and all you got is one pair, don't ya? The pro later turned round to some railbird and whispered something about "anyone else and I fold, but against him....", so he may well have had good reason to call, I could be judging him a little harshly.

Harold has been known to slow-play and check-raise top pair with a medium kicker. It was correct to call him down here. Of course, no disrespect to you, as you don't know Harold like we know Harold.

Another interesting coup occurred when I raised in late position with some rubbish(I can't remember, but it doesn't really matter) and found seat 4, the local who was a complete rock(remember?) and the PRG calling. The flop featured two clubs. They both checked to me, so I thought I'll bet out and take the pot right here. They both called-hmmm, have I got a plan B? I was especially concerned when the Rock called because I had barely seen this fella play a hand; he really was super-duper tight. Anyway the next card comes and it's a club, and that's it, I'm through with this pot. They both check to me, and I look at the Rock and he's just dying for me to bet, it's so obvious it's a joke. Like I said I had given up on this pot so I just checked along. River is nothing special and now the Rock bets 200-I knew he had the nut flush! PRG calls and I fold with the satisfaction of seeing my brilliant read. Rock now turns over a pair of 10s(huh?) while PRG is the one with the nut flush. So much for my understanding of that situation.

Me too. I put you on a raise, which is why I flat-called. I completely misread some movement you made on the turn.

The game had been going on for a while now when up came perhaps the most interesting pot of the night(unfortunately, I was not involved). A little background on the three participants first. Loudmouth, in seat 5, had for sometime now, been raising before the flop and taking pots down without his cards being seen. Indeed, he was playing well and winning quite a bit(probably had about 3 grand in front of him). PRG, like I said above, was losing quite a lot, maybe stuck about 1000 or so, maybe less. NYG(remember him? he did me with the trip 3s) had started with 300 and, in the space of about an hour, had built it up to about 1500. Anyway, Loudmouth raises UTG, PRG calls, and NYG now re-raises the pot. Loudmouth now raises again and PRG calls while muttering something like, "time to gamble", and NYG calls. I'm pretty sure that's how the pre-flop betting went, but basically they all put-in about 180 each before the flop. I definitely remember the pot was 560, because that was how much loudmouth bet, when he saw J 7 9 in the middle of the table. I know he bet the pot because his favourite expression was, "I'll bet the pot!", being one of those players who always bet the max. Now, the PRG hesitated a little and then said, "make it two thousand", while counting out twenty 100 dollar bills. Now the look on the NYG's face was priceless, the blood literally drained from this kid's face, I'm pretty sure I even heard him say,"oh shit".Whatever the case, he looked pretty freaked out and it dawned on me he had pretty good hand, but maybe not good enough. By now, there was a pretty large crowd gathered around the table watching the action(btw, quite a few times there were many players from other games coming over to watch. This was a good game and there were several big bets and pots generated during the evening. Whilst not being a super-huge game, I think many of the players watching were 10/20 and 15/30 types, and they could imagine themselves in this game. I noticed this same phenomenon at the Bellagio in Vegas once, when some english friends and I set up a plh game, with exactly the same blinds. At the table next to us was Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harmon, Annie Duke etc playing HUGE, maybe 3000/6000, but everyone in the room was far more interested in our game. I was also bemused by the reluctance of these same players to get involved in our game-I'm sure many a time they've found themselves stuck 500, or even 1k, in a 10/20 or 15/30 game, yet don't want play 400 in a plh game in case they blow it all in one hand.) So, NYG starts to think, and Loudmouth says,"c'mon kid, it's 2 grand to you" (I don't think he was feeling too grand). NYG looks a little peeved(and who can blame him?) and says, "yeah, I know", thinks for a while and folds. Now, it's back on Loudmouth and he goes into a 5 to 10 minute think, which as you all know, is a looong time in poker, before he too throws his hand in. What's interesting about this hand is that NYG later said he had Aces! Surely, he should have raised a third time pre-flop(he definitely had enough money in front of him to make calling difficult for the other two, and if Loudmouth had KKs he would have been in a whole world of trouble) and taken the pot down there and then? I reckon PRG's possible holdings were J 9, J 7(for 2 pr) or 10 8(for the straight). I think he would have laid down a small pocket pair for a large bet before the flop, and if he did have a set he would have slow-played it, but, then again, what the hell do I know? As for Loudmouth's hand, I can't even begin to guess.

For the whole story on this hand, go to twoplustwo.com. In the PL/NL forum, you'll see two posts by me. In the first one, I tell about the hand and my thinking. In the second one, I tell the post-mortem from a week later, as I saw both of the others that night and we all shared our hands with each other. The posts are titled "Interesting Reason to Semi-Bluff" and "Follow-up: Interesting Reason to Semi-Bluff", or something very similar. Let's just say I was in third place after that flop, knew it, and still won. ;-) It really was a pleasure to play with you. I liked your game, and know that in the long run, you'd make a clear profit against the line-up that night.As long as I didn't crack your AK too often. ;-)

Hugo Martin writes for Poker Verdict, a free service catering for the online poker community. It offers a unique and powerful tournament search tool as well as news and views from online poker experts. The site is owned by Easyodds, a free service that compares odds from over 20 big name online betting companies (Ladbrokes, Betfair etc) to allow users to find the best price for any bet.